Hello! This is my newest story. Im taking a little break from This Is It. In this story, Kurt and Blaine never met. kurt grew up in Ohio while Blaine lived in New York. I actually came up with this story while I was having dinner in Carmines! I hope you like it! I'm not really sure where the title came from, but it sounded right. Please leave me a review about what you think and if this story is worth continuing. Enjoy!


Kurt Hummel had received a phone call during the summer after graduation, that set the tone for the rest of his life. Having been rejected from NYADA, Kurt was in a funk that would leave him stuck in Lima, Ohio. He thought he would be destined for failure until, one hot July afternoon, Kurt's cell phone rang from an unfamiliar number. The area code was, however, very familiar to Kurt. After spending countless hours researching schools in New York, Kurt had become very familiar with the New York City area codes. When he picked it up, he didn't expect to have a three hour long conversation with an off broadway director.

After seeing Kurt perform in West Side Story, the director had been interested in Kurt playing Lumiere in a revival of Beauty and the Beast. Because of Kurt's extensive background in French, the director saw him as the perfect person to play the part.

A week later, Kurt was on a plane, flying to JFK airport on Long Island where he would be taking a train into the city and then moving into his new apartment. Kurt took a car to Babylon train station where he bought his one way ticket to Penn Station.

This is it, Kurt thought to himself as he took his seat. This is where my life begins. He spent the hour long ride texting Rachel, who was ecstatic to have Kurt in the city with her.

His heart almost burst out of his chest when the voice came over the intercom announcing their arrival at Penn Station. He quickly collected his belongings, walked off the train and up the stairs into the crowded Penn Station. He looked around at his surroundings and made his way outside. His first glimpse of the city was unreal. He stopped and stared up towards the sky and turned in his spot gazing at Madison Square Garden. He was in a trance until he was shoved aside by a large man talking on the phone dressed in a business suit.

"Get out of the way man!" The guy shouted at him as he threw Kurt a dirty glare and continued walking.

Kurt adjusted his bag strap and started walking along 8th Avenue. To say Kurt was a bit uneasy was an understatement. He was terrified. Growing up in a small town like Lima, Ohio did not prepare him for what he saw in this big city. As he walked, people would say random things to him, try to hand him flyers, and just stare at him. Kurt did his best not to make eye contact, but it was hard not to stare at a huge man with an intimidating face as he shouted into his phone dropping the "F" bomb. What surprised Kurt the most was that people would keep walking, blissfully unaware to the insanity that was happening around him. Two men were having a heated argument and screaming in Spanish at each other and nobody blinked an eye. This was not at all what Kurt had expected. He watched as people crossed the street and cars would slam their horns at them while they ignored them and continued walking. Some cars wouldn't even hit their horns, they would just keep driving. Kurt nearly got hit four times.

When he hit West 42nd Street, he made a left and walked another block until he was face to face with Times Square. This area seemed so much brighter and friendlier than a block ago. Everywhere he looked, Kurt saw tourists and bright signs advertising stores and restaurants. He almost laughed out loud at the two woman taking a picture next to a naked cowboy. Kurt noticed a few fashionably dressed men staring at him and he then realized that these were his cast mates.

"Kurt?" A tall thin man with the face of a model and an impeccable fashion sense asked him.

"Yeah, I'm Kurt." he replied tentatively.

"My name's Mike." The fashionable man stuck his hand out with a huge smile. Kurt shook it and was immediately drawn to this guy. He had such a charm about him that drew Kurt in.

"I'll be playing the clock." He added with a wink.

The man standing next to him stepped forward and stuck his hand out to Kurt which Kurt shook in return.

"I'm Charlie I'll be the beast!" He laughed.

The girl next to him stuck out her hand. She had long dark hair and a gorgeous face.

"I'm Kaylee. I'm playing Beauty."

"And she's my girl so don't get any funny ideas Kurt." Charlie joked with a smile as he wrapped his arm around his waist.

"Oh my Gawd. You are so possessive." She added with a smile. She had a thick Long Island accent.

"No worries. I'm gay." Kurt laughed as he put his hands up defensively.

"Good news for me." Mike said with a wink. "Let's head down to the theater to meet the rest of the cast. John, the director, said you've never been here so we figured we would come get you before you got lost." He grabbed Kurt's hand and the four of them started walking down 8th Avenue until they hit 45th and walked through the stage door into the Al Hirshfield theater. Kurt was surprised that Mike didn't let go of his hand the entire time, but he wasn't about to complain.

Meeting the cast went fairly well for Kurt. He managed to remember everyone's names and read through his script without messing up. At he end of the reading, he got a few of the cast members numbers and agreed to go out with them soon.

Mike, Charlie and Kaylee asked Kurt to head out to dinner with them which Kurt happily agreed. They walked about a block until they got to Carmine's.

"Oh come on Kaylee! Why do you always pick the worst restaurants? I hate going in here. It's so upsetting seeing these people." Mike noticed the confused look on Kurt's face and turned to him to explain.

"All the waiters and bartenders that work here are basically all failed broadway actors. It's kind of pathetic actually." They all laughed except for Kurt.

"How do you know they're all failed actors?"

"The Broadway community is very close. We basically all know each other's business." Charlie said with a smile while opening the door for the others.

As Kurt walked in, he was met with a fun atmosphere and a crowded restaurant.

"I'm not in the mood for a table. Let's just sit at the bar." Kaylee dragged Charlie towards the bar while the others followed.

"Look who it is." Mike laughed as he directed their attention to one of the bartenders.

Kurt looked up to see a gorgeous man with thick black curls, a freshly shaven face and adorable hazel eyes.

"Watch this." Mike said to Kurt before he sat down in front of the bartender.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Blaine Anderson. How are we today? Still serving up drinks?"

"Hey Mike. Great to see you again. What can I get you?" Blaine sounded less than thrilled to be talking to Mike, but still put a smile on his face that was clearly fake.

"The usual. Hey Kurt, what can I get you?" Mike turned to Kurt with a smile.

"Uh, I'll just have water." Kurt took a seat in between Mike and Charlie.

"Nah, man. First night on the town, you have to have a little fun. Let's get my boy a beer over here. How 'bout it Blainey?" Blaine turned around and made eye contact with Kurt. Kurt's breath hitched as he stared into Blaine's eyes. They softened immensely from when they were staring at Mike.

Kurt didn't see the fire behind Mike's eyes when he saw how Kurt was looking at Blaine.

Mike threw his arm around Kurt's shoulder and brought his attention back.

"Kurt. I'd like you to meet Blaine. We were on broadway together when we were 16."

"As I remember, Mike, you were my understudy." Blaine said as he handed them all drinks.

"Actually Blaine, as I remember, you dropped out of the show opening night, making me the lead and you without a broadway dream." Mike replied with venom in his voice.

"Right. Well, what failed show are you in now?" Blaine asked with sass in his voice.

"Beauty and the Beast. I'm playing the candle. And this won't be a failed show. Our director brought talent all the way from Ohio to play the candle." Mike replied with a squeeze of Kurt's shoulder. Kurt simply smiled.

The rest of the night passed by quickly. Kurt didn't drink any more, but that didn't stop Mike from drinking and making nasty comments at Blaine all night. Kurt wasn't sure what his problem with Blaine was, but he figured he would find out soon enough. Kurt spent most of the night stealing glances at Blaine, whom he noticed, kept glancing at him which left both of them blushing and looking away. This didn't go unnoticed by Mike who just threw more hurtful comments at Blaine about how pathetic and degrading his job was. Blaine ignored them, and kept working. Kurt had to admire how well Blaine was at ignoring drunk and rowdy customers. Charlie and Kaylee kept mostly to each other, but did join in on a few of the conversations Kurt and Mike were having. They did make sure to laugh every time Mike would make fun of Blaine. Kurt would always throw Blaine an apologetic look which he returned with a shoulder shrug. Blaine's seemed like a really nice guy and he wasn't sure what his cast mates found so unappealing about him.

After much protest, Mike paid his and Kurt's bill. They left around midnight and started making their way home. Charlie and Kaylee took a cab back to their apartment while Mike walked Kurt home. He claimed he didn't want Kurt getting lost on his first night here.

"So," Kurt said after a few minutes of walking. "What's the deal with Blaine? You guys seemed to not really like each other."

Mike sighed but glanced at Kurt. After a few minutes he spoke.

"Blaine's always been that guy that everyone loves. Which is ridiculous because there's nothing special about him. We used to be best friends when we were kids. We grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, had the same interests. So when he was 15, he came out to his family and friends. He told them he was gay and his dream was to be on Broadway. Of course, everyone told him he was perfect and they still loved him and shit. But when I came out, it was like the whole world was ending. My family was pissed. My friends didn't talk to me as much, besides Blaine, and everyone kept their distance from me. So we both decided to audition for an actual Broadway show. Hairspray. When I found out that Blaine got the main part and I was his understudy, I was pissed. He got everything he wanted. Friends, boyfriends, good grades, huge leads in school plays. I was so tired of it. So I started distancing myself from him. I didn't want anything to do with the stuck up jerk that he had become. He was a total asshole to me because he was the lead on an actual Broadway show and he had all these new friends. But the day before the show was supposed to hit Broadway, he dropped out. Nobody knew why. The director was furious. I had to step in last second and take over. Then, when the show tanked, and it was taken off Broadway, everyone blamed me. They said, if Blaine was still there, the show would've been incredibly popular. By dropping out of the show, Blaine basically screwed up his career. No director wanted him. That's why he works at Carmine's with every other failed actor in the business." There was a silence for a few minutes between the two after Mike gave his long winded story. Kurt finally broke it.

"Why would he drop out and ruin his chances like that?"

"I don't know. All I'm sure about is that he called me up that night, crying his eyes about how sorry he was about what happened, but that he 'Couldn't give himself up like that and it wasn't something he could do.' I have no clue what that meant because I hung up on him and didn't speak to him again until I saw him a few years later I saw him working at Carmine's." They had reached Kurt's temporary apartment and Kurt was surprised when Mike hugged him and told him he'd see him tomorrow.

Kurt didn't know what to think of Blaine. He seemed so sweet. Kurt couldn't see him acting badly toward Mike without a real reason. And Kurt had a feeling there was more to Blaine's story as to why he dropped out.

His thoughts were interrupted when he stepped into the elevator and realized he wasn't alone.

"Hey Kurt." Blaine said with smile. "What floor?"

"15" Kurt replied but couldn't keep his eyes off Blaine.

"That's weird, so am I." He giggled and Kurt was pretty sure he melted right there by how adorable Blaine was.

Blaine whistled along to the elevator music and Kurt was trying and failing at not giggling. Blaine turned towards him and laughed.

As they reached the 15th floor and the doors slid open, Blaine led his arm out to let Kurt out first. Kurt smiled at him and stepped out while turning to left and was surprised to see Blaine following him.

"I swear, I'm not following you. My apartments down here too." Blaine stopped at a door that was a few doors down from Kurt's.

"Well this is really weird." Kurt said with a laugh as he pulled out his key.

"I know. Did you find out where I lived and bought this apartment on purpose?" Blaine asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe." Kurt laughed. "Goodnight Blaine." Kurt pulled open his door and was about to step inside when Blaine called out.

"Hey Kurt. This may seem a bit forward, but would you want to grab coffee with me tomorrow morning. I can show you the best coffee place in the entire city. It's always good to learn from a local." He said with a smile and hopeful eyes.

Kurt's heart fluttered in his chest.

"Yeah. I'd like that. Is 8 good?" Kurt couldn't wipe the dopey smile he had on his face.

"Sounds great. See you tomorrow." Blaine turned to walk inside but was still looking at Kurt when he walked right into the door frame.

"Oh shit. Are you okay?" Kurt dropped his bag and hurried over to Blaine.

"Yup. I'm okay. Happens all the time." Blaine turned towards Kurt who had his hand on Blaine's forehand pushing his hair back to look at the bruise forming. They both stopped and stared at each other. Kurt was pretty sure Blaine could hear his heart beating in his chest. After a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes, Kurt pulled his hand away.

"Um. I guess I'll head to bed now. You sure you're okay?" Kurt reluctantly stepped back.

"Oh, Yeah, I'm fine." Blaine regained his composure. "See you tomorrow." He smiled at Kurt and made sure to step through the doorway this time.

Kurt laughed. "Night Blaine." They both closed their doors and leaned against them.

A content sigh could be heard from both rooms.